Post Cronus
by 4everallways
Summary: Cronus has been defeated and the teens have all chosen to stay in New Olympia to finish off high school. The day after they defeat Cronus, they come downstairs to find a surprise waiting for them. Will Archie finally confess his feelings to Atlanta? Does Neil have a soft spot? What happened to Herry's long-lost twin sister? AxA JxT
1. Chapter 1

**Hello people who still care about my stories! This is a new one that I've been working on. Think of it as an early Christmas present for all of you! Without further ado, here it is!**

It was all over. They had finally done it. They had beaten Cronus for good. He was back in his well hated prison cell in Tartarus. They knew this for a fact, because they went with Campe when she locked him away. The cost to this had surprisingly been very minimal. Theresa only had a headache, Odie was sporting a sprained wrist, Jay got a scythe in the arm, Atlanta broke a couple fingers, Herry burned his hand, Archie had many bruises all over his arms and legs, Neil messed up his hair, but thanks to his luck, was otherwise fine. At least this was better than death.

The exhausted teens now lay asleep in their beds. The final battle with Cronus had taken its toll on them. But all rested peacefully knowing that Cronus would no longer haunt their dreams. In Jay's case, he would no longer be stressed, as he had always felt that the weight of the world rested on his shoulders.

Archie, though was lying awake in bed. He was still troubled by the fact that he had yet to tell Atlanta how he felt about her. Sure, he still had the rest of high school, as the gods were letting them stay at the Brownstone to finish. They had developed amazing friendships, and they weren't going to just throw them away. But he still couldn't believe it! A tough guy like him, scared of a girl? Not the girl, he reminded himself, but the girl's reaction to what he had to say.

I'll tell her in the morning, he thought to himself. He closed his eyes, and let his exhaustion take over him.

Theresa woke to the light that streamed through the pail pink curtains in her room. The searing migraine she had yesterday had vanished. She smiled to herself as she remembered the events of the previous day. They had finally ridded the world of Cronus! He was back in his hated cell in Tartarus, and she couldn't be happier. She was going to stay at the Brownstone with all of her friends, and she finally was going to get a chance to be normal again! she jumped out of bed and got dressed. She walked out her bedroom door and saw a very tired yet very happy Jay walking towards her.

"We did it," he said. A grin that you wouldn't expect to see on Jay had somehow snuck its way onto his face.

"I know! We finally get to be normal! no more training, or worrying. Just all of us, hanging out like normal teenagers."

Jay and Theresa walked downstairs to the kitchen. Theresa opened the fridge and pulled out the milk while Jay got the cereal. They poured their breakfast and sat in a comfortable silence for a couple of minutes before Theresa spoke again.

"So what are you planning on doing today now that Cronus is gone? Has your Mr. Responsible attitude gone away?"

"Hey! I knew how to let loose even when Cronus was around!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Prove it."

"I will!" They both stood up at the same time, their breakfast forgotten. Jay started to tickle her while she giggled and prayed for mercy. This wish went ungranted.

Eventually Theresa wiggled free of his grasp, and jumped on his back. Jay gasped in surprise and lost his balance, but quickly regained his footing. He carried her over into the living room while they both laughed loudly. But what they saw in the living room made Jay stop dead in his tracks. He dropped Theresa on the ground and she landed on her feet. Both of their mouths fell open, as they stared at the sight before them. A large group of people, only some of which were recognizable, were either sitting or standing in the small room. Among them was Hera.

"Jay, Theresa. Can you go and wake the others for me?" Both were still speechless, so all they did was nod their heads.

Theresa headed up to the third floor to get Herry, then came back down to the second. Banging on the doors of Archie, Atlanta, and Neil, she yelled for them to make their way downstairs as quick as possible. One by one, three sleepy and somewhat annoyed teens filed their way out of their individual rooms. A very grumpy looking Herry stomped his way down the stairs.

"This better be good. You're interrupting my beauty sleep!" Neil said, giving her his signature pout. For once, the others nodded in agreement with Neil.

"Just follow me," Theresa told them. The four teenagers thumped down the stairs after her.

Jay had gotten Odie from his room in the basement and he was just as shocked as Theresa and Jay were when they first saw the sight that was placed in front of him. Theresa and the others walked into the room and their mouths simultaneously dropped.

"Children, I realized that it was about time that you saw your families again. I have told them everything. I know that you have chosen to stay here in New Olympia, but it would be good for you to spend some time with them now that Cronus is gone. As well as this, on behalf of all the gods, I have brought you gifts. Our way of gratitude, as you did not have to stay and protect the world, but you chose to." The teens looked at her and to their families with pure shock and joy. "For you, Jay we have gotten you a new sail boat, as your old one was wrecked by Cronus and sea monsters." Jay's face lit up as Hera gave him the keys. "For you, Odie I would like to present you with a full scholarship to any university of your choice with everything that you will need payed for. That is, when you graduate. Along with a new laptop." Odie was very pleased with this. "Neil, you will receive a full spa for your room which Hephaestus will instal for you." Neil gave a little shriek of delight. "Atlanta, you will receive a bow and arrows crafted with the finest materials." Atlanta fist-pumped the air. "Archie, You will be given the Spear of Achilles." Archie's jaw dropped in aw. "Herry, You will get a full kit to keep your truck in perfect condition, along with a coupon that allows you to receive free food for a year at the food court." Herry's mouth watered as he thought about what Hera just said. "And finally, Theresa. Your gift might be the best of all. It is waiting outside for you."

Theresa shot the goddess a confused look before she got up to go open the door. But what she saw when she opened it was nothing like what she was expecting. Hot tears of happiness streamed down her face as she stared at her gift. For her gift was defiantly the most special of them all. For standing in front of her was her mother. And she looked very alive to Theresa.

**I have a really bad habit of leaving my stories on cliffhangers don't I? Well what did you think? Just a little idea that I've had in my head for a while. Should I continue this? You tell me. And please check out my other story if you haven't yet! It's a cross over with Scooby Doo. And if you like original stories, I have a Wattpad account under the same user name. The story is called Welcome to My Life. For a full summary, go to this link. ~ story/3301437-welcome-to-my-life ~ R&R.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much for the reviews for this story! Its good to know that other people like the idea as much as I do! Here's the next chapter. SO sorry about the long wait! I was in Mexico. I might even put up chapter three soon, who knows? After you read the chapter, I have an important announcement at the bottom, so please read it! Well here it is!**  
**Disclaimer- I don't own it, don't rub it in my face.**

Theresa rushed into the warm arms of her mother. How she had missed her hugs. But as of right now, Theresa still didn't know whether or not she was dreaming. It all seemed so unrealistic.

"H-h-how are you h-h-here?" Theresa stuttered as the tears rolled down her cheeks. "Y-you d-d-died eight y-y-years ago."

"With a little help from Persephone and Hades, my dear, I'm here. I've missed your beautiful face." Theresa smiled at Hera, who had followed her.

"Thank you. You don't know how much this means to me. I've lived eight years without my mom. I've missed her so much. Her death changed my father. He used his work to keep himself busy. And it was like he was trying to shut out everything in his life that reminded him of her. Including me."

"It was my pleasure. After helping to save the world, you deserved such a reward. Now, I believe that the rest of your family might want to see your mother again too. Like your older sister and father?"

Theresa's eyes lit up. Her family would be whole again. She grabbed her mom's hand and dragged her into the living room, where everyone else was.

"Guys, this is my mom," Theresa immediately looked in the direction of her sister Rachel and her dad. Rachel's eyes were watering as she ducked her head. She was obviously in doubt. Trying to wake up from this "dream." Her father just went wide eyed.

"It's not possible, mom's dead. It's not possible, mom's dead." Rachel kept repeating this to herself over and over again while staring at the ground.

"Caroline? Caroline is that really you?" Theresa's dad who had seemed to have fully absorbed the information had stood up and walked over to where the two were standing.

"Yes John, it's really me." A smile broke across his face as he kissed his wife. They broke apart and stared at Rachel, who had turned to stare. "Rachel, it's really me. I was brought back from the dead."

"But thats impossible. Your body would have long since can't be here."

"But I am. Hades and the other gods took care of everything. They made my body look my age. Honey, you aren't dreaming." Rachel slowly looked up at her mom. She took in her appearance. She really did look like her mother.

"Mom…?"

"Yes hun, it's me."

"Mom!" Rachel rushed into her mother's arms. "I've missed you so much. I'm sorry for not believing you, this just seems so unreal."

"Believe me, I thought this was a reality T.V show when I first came. It's okay." Theresa walked up to them and hugged them both. "Now, we'll finally be a true family again." She looked up at her dad. He just smiled and joined in with the family hug.

The whole time, all her friends could do was watch in aw, but eventually they went over and joined their own families. No more hiding secrets from their families. Thank the gods for that.

The barbecue was started up up. That made Herry happy. Everyone was catching up with their families. Especially Theresa. Between her sister being away at a fancy University, and her mother coming back from the dead, they had a lot to talk about. Halfway through the conversation, Theresa and Rachel decided they needed to give their parents some time alone. They got up from the table and walked over to the other side of the yard.

"So, how long have you liked him?" Theresa was shocked at her sisters question.

"What do you mean?" She asked innocently. She tried not to give anything away.

Rachel frowned. She saw straight through her sister's lie. "You know, the guy with brown hair and the tacky shirt. Don't play dumb, Theresa. I see the way you look at him." Damn. She was busted.

Theresa gave up. "Since I first met him."

"Do you think he feels the same way?"

"I don't know, Rachel. Sometimes I think he does, but then he covers it up, and pretends it didn't happen. When we were fighting Cronus, he'd always be so absorbed in defeating him." During the course of their conversation, the sisters had been wandering around the yard. Theresa took in the appearance of all her friends with their families. Apart from Herry's grandmother, no one had known about the seven teen's heroism. So some were still letting the information sink in.

Archie sat with his two younger siblings, as they asked him all these questions. He looked semi-annoyed. Part of him, though let his tough guy facade cave in around his little brother and sister.

Atlanta was sitting with her arms crossed over her chest and a scowl on her face. She was bored of her parents scolding her about not telling them. She was a teenager, she wasn't supposed to tell her parents everything.

Odie's parents and his two sisters were sitting in aw, watching their son show them how to work the various gadgets he created. They knew he was smart, but not this smart.

Herry, his parents, and his grandmother were the only ones not talking. Sure, Hazel had gone missing a year before Herry left for New Olympia, but being together with his family again brought back the memories of her.

Neil and his mom had been sitting discussing and comparing clothing brands. His dad's and 8-year-old sister's flight had been delayed. But they had explained everything over the phone. Everyone turned when the gate creaked open. A man in his mid forties and a little girl walked through the gate.

"Neilly!" the high pitch shriek of a little girl rang in Theresa's ears. But the sight she saw in front of her was the most puzzling thing that she had seen all day. Neil, for once voluntarily dropped to his knees on the ground, not caring about his designer pants he spread his arms and a small warm body hurtled themselves into him.

"Beca! How are you, kiddo?" Theresa's jaw dropped and when she turned to look at the rest of her friends, their faces resembled hers. Archie crossed over to Herry and whispered in his ear.

"Neil's soft spot is his little sister? Neil has a soft spot? Now that was very unexpected." Herry snickered.

"Yeah, I thought he only cared about himself!"

Theresa watched in pure amazement while Beca messed up Neil's hair. Not only did he not fix it right away, or whip out his mirror, he was actually smiling.

Neil turned to face his friends, and took a good look at all of their faces. "What?"

"Oh, nothing," Archie said. "You're just acting like a completely different person.

"What do you mean? Neily is the bestest nicest big brother in the world! This is what he's always like." Beca exclaimed. Archie and the others tried to hold back a laugh.

"Neil? Caring about people that don't include him? I'll believe that when Herry agrees to go hungry for a day. Or let someone dent his truck. Or uses his brain. Or…"

"I think they get the point, Archie," Herry said through gritted teeth. Archie ducked away from him when he cracked his knuckles in a warning motion.

"But it's true! Neil is awesome! He'd always play with me at home and take me to the mall and buy me pretty cloths!"

"Well, taking her to the mall sounds like something Neil would do," Theresa said under her breath to Jay. He snickered.

Neil wiped the annoyed look off his face and replaced it with a smile. He turned to his sister. "Do you want to go get ice-cream, Beca?" Neil asked his sister. Beca smiled and nodded. The two left the way Beca came in.

After the others were sure Neil and Beca were out of ear shot, the remaining six teenagers burst out laughing. Odie was the first able to talk. "Now that's a sight I never expected to see." The others all nodded, and went back to talking with their families.

When he was sure that she was alone, Archie walked up to Atlanta and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and frowned when she saw the nervous look on his face.

"Can I help you with something, Arch?" She asked him.

"Actually Atlanta I wanted to ask you something." Archie pulled at the collar of his t-shirt as he talked.

"Shoot."

"Well you know that you're my best friend and-" Archie got cut off when he heard a door slam and two sets of feet running across the cement stairs. Atlanta's brothers were running towards her. They dove and tried to tackle her to the ground, but she just sighed and ducked out of the way. Archie swore under his breath.

Atlanta's brothers landed in a pile, one on top of the other. "Will you two ever grow up?" She asked them.

"That depends," one of them asked her. "Are you ever going to grow?"

"Hey! I'm not that short!"

"Really, because last time I checked, there were ten-year-olds taller than you," the other said.

"Well last time I checked, the both of you combined weren't as smart as a donkey!" Atlanta yelled back. Archie cleared his throat so that they knew he was still there. "Oops, sorry Arch. By the way, these are my brothers, tweetle dumb and tweetle dumber."

They scowled at her nicknames, before one spoke up. "So Atlanta, why does your boyfriend have purple hair?"

Atlanta glared at them while Archie's cheeks went beet red.

"He's not my boyfriend, and don't insult his hair. That's my job."

"Hey! Still here!"

"Well, it's always nice talking to you, shrimp, but we got to run. See yah." They took off in the other direction.

"Sorry about that, Arch. Dumb and Dumber tend to talk before they use the little brains they have. So what was it you wanted to ask me?"

"Um, never mind. Bye." Archie ran off, and left a very confused Atlanta standing in the middle of the yard.

Archie ran up to his room and flopped on his bed. Why did people have to make this so much harder for him? Well, Archie was Atlanta's best friend, that much he knew. But that's probably all he was to her. He sighed, and stuck his headphones in his ears, and let the classic rock drown out his thoughts.

Theresa and her mom walked through the park. Theresa had really missed her mother's company.

"So, how have you been?" Theresa asked her mom.

"Lonely," her mother replied. "In the Underworld, I didn't have a sense of time, so I didn't know how long it had been since my death. For all I knew, you were already an adult. But a little while ago, Persephone visited me. She told me everything about you, Theresa. I was happy that you still were a teenager. But at the same time, I was terrified. You could be joining me sooner than I expected. Cronus could have killed you." Theresa embraced her mother at the end of her story.

"It's okay. I'm still here. And the best part is that you are too.

**I'm so sorry for the long wait! But I was in Mexico. I'm making it up to you by posting chapter three really soon after this! I was writing while I was away. Don't think that's all you're seeing of the families. They're going to be here for most of the story. I know Neil seems ooc, but that's the way it's supposed to be. Oh, and if anything seems grammatically incorrect, or looks wrong tell me. Sorry, that's what I get for typing it on my IPod, then emailing it to myself while on vacation**

**Now, like I said during my first author's note, I had some news. If you read my other stories, or have visited my profile, this is mainly for you. If you haven't, check them out! I defiantly don't like them as much as this one. I think it's better written. The crossover I've written has received just as many reviews as the first chapter of this story. Anyways, as for that story (the crossover with Scooby Doo), right now I am out of ideas for it so I won't be updating it for a while. If you have any, PM me. Plus, I would like to focus on this story right now.**

**One more thing. If you like the Hunger Games, I'm planning on writing a story for it. The genre will be supernatural. For a complete summary, go to my profile. If it's worth writing, PM me or review this story.**

**Thanks for putting up with this announcement. I know it was long and annoying.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for the reviews! Like I promised, here's a quick update! ;)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own COTT. But Rachel and Beca are mine, so no stealing! **

"Come on, Neil! We still have to get our sisters from the hotel!" Theresa yelled up the stairs, while she tried to find her keys and put her shoes on.

"But I haven't even moisturized yet! I don't want problem skin!"

"Funny, the kid leaves and he's back to normal," Theresa muttered to herself. Jay, who was leaning against the counter chuckled and sipped his coffee. "If you don't get your butt down here now, I'll get Odie to shave your head! Again." A squeal came from upstairs, and Neil came running down.

The two went outside, and got into Theresa's car. They were taking their sisters to the mall. Theresa pulled up at the curb of the hotel, and Rachel and Beca came running out.

"Ready?" Rachel asks.

"Yep let's go."

Rachel cleared her throat and stared down at Neil expectantly.

"Oh no. You're not getting my seat. I called shotgun." Rachel raised an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips. Neil squeaked and moved to the back. He was scared of Theresa as it was, he didn't need an older one on his case too.

When they got to the mall, they got out and went their separate ways. Neil and Beca went to Build-a-Bunny, Theresa and Rachel went to different fashion boutiques. They planned to meet up at the mall's coffee shop at two.

Neil and Beca walked out of Build-a-Bunny and started towards the next store. Beca clutched a giant overstuffed rabbit close to her chest.

"Neily?"

"Yeah Beca?"

"Were you really a super hero?"

Neil sighed. As much as he didn't want to bring his little sister into this part of his life, he owed her the truth. "Yes, Becky. I was."

His little sister stared up at him in awe. "Why aren't you anymore?"

"Because we locked the bad guy away," Neil responded.

"Oh," Beca said in a small voice. "Neily?"

"Hm?"

Beca stopped walking and turned to her brother. Neil wasn't expecting this but she gave him a giant hug. "You're the best big brother ever." Neil smiled to himself, then bent down to hug his sister back. Take that, Archie.

Theresa and Rachel walked through the mall carrying about four shopping bags each. When the two sisters went shopping, they took it seriously. They were on their way to meet up with Neil and Beca at the coffee shop. But when they stopped for a minute, Theresa took one look at the grin on her sister's face and knew what she was getting at. That was her I-still-haven't-dropped-what-we-were-talking-about-before face.

Theresa sighed. "Okay, what do you want?"

Rachel mock-gasped. "My dear sister, am I really that predictable?"

"I already told you everything, Rachel. I like him, I have since I met him, his name is Jay. What else do you want to know?"

"I don't know? What's special about him? Look, I'm easy to convince. But you know what daddy will think. He wants to "Keep us safe from heartbreak." He thinks every boy only likes us for our money, so he doesn't give boys much of a chance to even introduce themselves. So you better have a pretty good sales pitch."

Theresa frowned. "Well, Rach you have a point but I'm pretty sure the fact that he's been one of my best friends for three years _and_ the fact that he's an ex-teenage hero pretty much seals the deal. Besides we aren't even dating." She started to walk again

Rachel frowned. Her sister could be very stubborn. In a way, she was also traditional. She had a real problem with asking boys out herself. If they didn't ask her, she'd drop hints until they noticed she liked them or a new boy came along. But when she was so head over heels for a boy like she was for this one, they'd have to be pretty clueless not to notice that she liked them.

"Theresa, you need to tell him. He's not just going to wake up one day and think, "Oh, I never noticed before, but Theresa likes me!" Unfortunately, the world doesn't work like that."

"Rachel, you know that I couldn't do that. What if he doesn't like me back? That would ruin our friendship!"

Sighing, Rachel gave up. For now.

After meeting at the coffee shop, Neil, Beca, Theresa and Rachel walked out drinks in hand, and strolled down through the mall. Beca gripped Neil's free hand, so for once he wasn't holding his mirror.

"So is there anywhere you guys still want to go?" Theresa asked. She crossed her fingers and looked at Neil, begging to Zeus for him to say no. To her surprise, Neil just shrugged his shoulders and said they could go now. Theresa's eyes went wide. They hadn't been in any hair salons, men's boutiques, or mirror stores all day! "Neil, are you sure you're okay?" He glared at her.

"Just fine, but thanks for the concern." Neil shot Theresa a sarcastic smile.

"Ah, there's the Neil I know!"

"Get a life, Theresa."

Back at the Brownstone, Jay was talking to his mother. Normally, Jay got along quite well with his mom. They would talk all the time even if it was just a brief phone conversation. He hated lying to her while they were fighting Cronus, but he felt good now, knowing that she knew the truth. Even if the first time he saw her after she was told she looked like she was about to pass out.

But today didn't go as usual. Actually, Jay was quite annoyed at his mom. They had a heated conversation, and then she left. Shortly after, Theresa came in.

"Hey."

"Hey, how was shopping?" Jay asked, collapsing into his chair.

"Exhausting, but surprisingly peaceful. I didn't have Neil in my ear the whole time about the latest hair product. I was either alone with my sister, or he was preoccupied with his." Theresa leaned against the door frame.

"Wow, you can't be serious."

"But I am." She paused and studied his face for a minute. "What's wrong, you seem down."

"Oh, nothing." Theresa raised an eyebrow, and he could tell she wasn't buying it. She really knew him well. He sighed and told her. "Well, my mom is really quite a social person. She likes hosting big parties or gatherings. And let's just say we have a big family." Jay paused and looked up at Theresa to see if she was getting it. She nodded, and motioned for him to continue. "Well, she's invited my cousins to come down and stay in the hotel with her."

"How many cousins?" She asked. Jay noted that she actually cared about his story. She wasn't fake smiling, she was listening with interest. Letting him rant.

"Well, there's four."

Theresa frowned. "That's not that big of a family. I have the amount of cousins as you."

Jay smiled sheepishly. "But that's only my mom's brother's kids. And my parents each have three siblings."

Theresa's mouth made an "o" shape. Jay grinned at her expression. "So, is your whole family coming?"

"Gods, no. There are so many of them that every room in the brownstone would be full. Including the bathrooms." Theresa burst out laughing at the thought. Jay loved her laugh. It was sort of high pitched, yet not so much that you'd think of her as one of those girls that act stupid to get boy's attention. It was distinct, and it really reflected her personality.

"Well, if only those four cousins are coming it shouldn't be that big of a problem." She smiled at him.

"So you'd think. But no. First there's Casper. He's really flirtatious. Lets just say, he acts like he has a crush on every girl that passes by him." Jay frowned, making a mental note to himself to make sure he didn't meet Theresa. "Then there's Paige. She's really quiet. Lets just say that most seven-year-olds talk a lot more then she does. "Alex, however is the exact opposite. He doesn't stop talking. He's actually really annoying for a fifteen-year-old. Last, but in her books defiantly not least, you have Jaime. Let's just say she's like a Neil in the making." Theresa giggled at his statement and he smiled. It was quite true. He wouldn't be surprised if Jaimie had a giant full length mirror, and a poster of the Golden Boy himself in her bedroom." Theresa couldn't stop herself from laughing.

"I'm sorry, Jay. But your family seems like the type you'd see in the movie. With everyone having a different personality." He smiled at her statement.

"Believe me, I know. Our family gatherings are actually really funny. Alex, talking to everyone and anyone. Jaimie sitting there with her mirror in her hand and her phone in her lap

"Well it sounds like they're going to be interesting to meet. Anyways, I came up here to tell you that the rest of us are going to the beach tomorrow. Maybe when your cousins get here you'll meet us down there?" Jay looked at here beautiful green eyes staring back at his. He got so transfixed for a moment, he forgot that she was asking him a question. "Jay?"

"Right, sorry. Yeah, count me in."

"Great." She turned to leave, hips swaying." Jay leaned back in his chair. Unfortunately, he was so deep into thought, it just tipped right backwards. Jay sighed, and pulled his chair upright again. Yep, he had a problem alright. That red headed goddess defiantly found a way to crawl into his heart.

**Okay, I'll make this quick. Real sorry for all the dialogue this chapter, but I need it all the explaining done near the end so that readers aren't confused in later chapters. I just realized that there is a real cheesy alert for the end. Oh well. Anyways, review! Remember, I like constructive criticism, so help me become a better writer! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, this defiantly wasn't my quickest update, but it wasn't my worst either! I'm sorry, but exams and studying took up most of my time. It's okay, though because next semester is really easy for me, so I'll have lots of time for quick updates now that we've gotten past the end of semester period. Because of all of this, this won't be my longest chapter, but enjoy it anyways. :) Oh, and I just thought that I'd add in that in this story, Phantom Rising doesn't exist. Or if you prefer, Golden Boy was the last event before my story. Other than events mentioned in this story. On another note, I was curious as to who won Absolute Honesty's Fanfiction Awards, so i went to check, and noticed that I won Best New Author! Thank you so much for everyone who voted for me! It really means a lot. Okay, on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: No, none of this is mine but the story line and my OC's.**

* * *

Early the next morning, Jay was up and on his way to the airport. He had recruited Herry and his truck to drive him there, since he himself did not own a car. No one else was up yet, but they would be leaving for the beach around ten, when they finally got around to getting up. Jay liked Herry a lot for many reasons. He'd have to, he was indeed his friend. But a big one was he didn't ask a lot of questions. So when Jay asked for a ride to the airport, he just shrugged his shoulders and said he'd go get his keys.

"I'll wait in the truck, Jay." Herry said. Jay smiled at his burly friend before turning to slam the door of the truck. There was definitely something the big guy wasn't telling them. Ever since their families arrived, he'd seemed down in the dumps. Jay would ask him later.

When he got to the airport, Jay opened the doors to reveal a building with a high ceiling and what seemed like never ending hallways. Jay quickly spotted a sign that said arrivals and turned down that way. When he got to the end, he inspected the large sign with the place and the flight number on it. His cousins were on flight 211. He saw that they would be at carousel 34 retrieving their baggage so he made his way over there. When he got there, He was able to pick them out right away. Jamie's platinum blonde hair gave her away way to easily.

Alex turned around and waved. Jay half heartedly waved back, and walked towards them. He hadn't even talked to his cousins yet, and he already knew this would be a long visit.

"Jay! Oh my god, cousin it has been a long time! How have you been? Well I already know that, Mister Monster Hunter! I've been playing soccer! Guess what? I made the gold team! Super exciting right?" Jay just sighed.

"Alex if you took time to breath in between your sentences, I might actually be able to understand more than a couple of words of what you were saying. Also, letting the other person talk between questions might also help." Jay already knew that Alex would be driving the others nuts. Particularly Archie. If there was one thing that Archie hated most, besides being shown up by Atlanta, or any girl for that matter, it was annoying boys who talked a lot. Jay would have to keep an eye on him to make sure he didn't rearrange Alex's face. He turned to face the others. "Nice to see you too, Jamie," He told the tall blonde girl sarcastically, who hadn't even looked up from her mirror. Her and Neil would be best friends if they looked away from themselves long enough to have a proper conversation. In response, the older girl raised her hand before continuing to fix her hair. Jay looked around Jaime until he found the thing he was looking for. Sitting next to her sister clutching a small backpack was Paige. The petit girl sat with her knees pulled up to her chest. Her light brown hair sat on her shoulders, and her big blue eyes stared back at Jay. "Paige, come give me a hug!"

The little girl got up and hugged him as he bent his knees to get down to her height.

Although Jay's youngest cousin was quite shy, he still saw her face light up when she saw him. Honestly, seeing that always made Jay's day. After all, she was Jay's favourite cousin for a reason. She wasn't annoying, and didn't whine when she didn't get her way. She was sweet, and the small words she got out every once in a while were always nice. She never insulted her siblings. Most of all, even though she was quiet, she would still do things and spend time with Jay. So over all, no offence to the others, but he did like her best.

This reunion Jay could already tell would be like all the others. Casper was up to his old tricks, hitting on girls in the airport on their way out and asking Jay who the 'hottest babes' around here were. Paige walked beside him, clutching his hand. Jay tightened his grip protectively around her tiny fingers. Jaime was walking with her hips swaying, and as usual was only carrying her purse. She'd payed Alex; who'd been more than willing to take her money, to take her bags. Jay saw a tall man a couple years older with dark spiked hair glance down at her butt. Alex of course, was back to talking at full speed. Jay sighed. Some things never changed.

An hour later, Jay, his cousins and Herry stepped onto the soft sand of New Olympia Beach. After checking in to the hotel, depositing their bags in their rooms and changing into bathing suits, the group of six got back into the truck and were on their way. Upon arriving at the beach, the group unloaded their towels, bags, sun chairs and umbrellas and were headed towards the general direction the others said they would be in. Each of their bags held sunblock, sunglasses, and in Herry's case: food.

Atlanta quickly spotted them and waved them over. They walked through the sand, allowing it to slip in between their toes.

"Hey," Jay said. The others turned around and smiled at them. Apart from Neil and Beca, who didn't look up from the sandcastle they were building. Jay raised his eyebrows, surprised that the blond model was allowing the sand to creep under his perfectly manicured fingernails. Everyone's siblings were there, including his own sister, Maybelle who had gone along with the others. Suddenly, a scream erupted from behind Jay. He quickly turned around in time to see Jaime clutch her face and scream again.

"Oh my god! You're Neil! I Love you! I bought your cologne for my brother for Christmas! Jay you idiot! Why didn't you tell me you were friends!" Jaime walked over to Jay and slapped his arm as she said the last bit.

"Well thats nice, sweetheart, but can we save any autographs for later? I'm a bit busy right now." Neil told her before turning back to his sister.

"Here! I'll help you!" Jaime grabbed a pail and raced off to fill it with water. Jay rolled his eyes.

Theresa moved her sunglasses down farther on her nose and looked questioningly at Herry. Surprisingly, and incredibly uncharacteristically, he hadn't touched the picnic basket. Theresa frowned. There was something eating him. "Hey, Herry where's Chelsea?" She asked him, speaking of his girlfriend, and one of her friends.

"Oh, she's going to meet us here in a little while." He replied. But when he did, he sounded distant, like he wasn't really paying full attention. Now Theresa was really confused. Where was the light hearted, spunky Herry she knew? He was barely even paying attention. She looked over at Jay. He seemed to have noticed this too. They exchanged a worried glance before trying to become involved again. Mabelle and Paige had joined Beca, Neil, and Jaime with their sandcastle. Honestly, Jaime was helping because Neil was. She'd prefer to tan, but she loved being close to him. Neil, on the other hand found himself trying to scoot as far away from her as possible. He thought that she was one of those creepy fan girls that wanted one of his hairs to clone him. And there was no way that _anyone_ was going to lay their hands on his hair.

Unfortunately for Jay though, Casper had caught his eye on something. Or someone. Theresa and Rachel had moved over a bit and were sitting on towels, slightly separated from the rest of the group. Actually, maybe this was more unfortunate for Casper, Jay thought cracking his knuckles. That's right. Jay was about to loose his goody image. Standing up, he walked over to where his oldest cousin had licked his hand, and was slicking his hair back. Just as Casper was about to take a step in the direction of the two girls, Jay clamped his hand down on his shoulder.

"Hey, Casper. So you see those girls over there," he said, pointing to Theresa and Rachel. Casper nodded his head, a smile spreading across his face. "Yeah, well the one with the long hair is off limits." Casper's smile dropped.

"Why cousin? Am I not aloud to have a little fun while I'm here?"

"Look, I know you know why. You aren't stupid." Jay hissed under his breath. "You are _not_ stealing the girl I like this time. I've watched it happen to many times."

Casper gave Jay a cold look. "Well, we'll see about that, now won't we?" He pushed past Jay and started his way over to a group of girls from Jay's school. Jay let out a breath. He didn't have to worry about Casper. For now. He walked over to Herry and sat beside him.

"I'd keep an eye on your girlfriend when she gets here, bud," he said under his breath.

Herry turned to him with a confused look on his face. "Why?"

"Let's just say that my cousin is bad news.

Meanwhile, Archie, Atlanta, Odie and his oldest sister Monica had started a volleyball match. And of course, Archie had already gotten cocky.

"Don't worry, Odie, Atlanta and I will go easy on you."

Odie smiled at this comment. Little did they know they were the ones who he should be going easy on. Just because they had the same 'curly' dark brown hair and skinny bodies didn't mean that their level of athleticism was the same as well. Monica actually played on her college volleyball team. Not only that, but she was the _captain._ Archie served the ball over the net, directly at Odie, and he hit it over. Barely. Atlanta passed it to Archie with a volley. He jumped up and spiked the ball. He turned around to high five Atlanta, but had the ball hit him in the back of the head. Monica had jumped up and blocked his shot.

Archie gaped at the tall woman. She smiled back at him and turned to her little brother and high fived him.

"Going easy on them, are we, Arch?" Atlanta muttered to him. He snapped out of his daze and was ready just in time to dive into the sand and get the ball. Yet, he missed.

After countless hits later, and a score of 20-13 in favour of Odie and Monica, it was match point. Monica lifted her strong arm to serve the ball over the net. Atlanta hit it back, but in a matter of seconds, Monica was at the net spiking it back over. Archie looked at his feet in shame, just in time to see the ball land hard, right there.

"Yeah baby! We won! In your face, Archie!" Odie yelled over the net, before turning and hugging his sister. Archie was pretty sure his mouth dropped all the way to the ground. I mean, come on, _Odie _of all people just beat him at a sport! He was pretty sure this would be held against him and Atlanta for a while.

A couple hours later, Herry's hunger took over his thoughts, and he started a fire for dinner. Everyone, minus Archie and Atlanta was sitting around it. Jaime was sitting as close to Neil as possible, and he was trying his best to keep as far away as possible. Chelsea had arrived a while ago, and was sitting with one of Herry's arms wrapped around her waist, and the other shoving a triple patty hamburger in his mouth. His fifth, in fact.

Elsewhere, out on the dock Atlanta and Archie sat on the dock. Atlanta had her bare feet dangling in the water and her hands out behind her. Archie, on the other hand had his feet tucked in, keeping them as far away from the water as possible.

"Come on, Arch are you seriously still afraid of water?"

Archie rolled his eyes at her comment and slowly untucked his feet, slightly dipping his toes in the cold ocean. Atlanta mock applauded him. He stuck his tongue out at her, and she returned the favour by shoving him slightly. Archie pushed her forwards, and she fell in the water, but not before grabbing his good ankle, and dragging him in with her. Archie came up sputtering with Atlanta laughing at the look on his face. He quickly reached up and grabbed onto the side of the pier. "Okay, that was NOT funny." He told the still laughing Atlanta.

"Yes, that was." She said, hauling her soaked body back up onto the pier. They sat there a little while longer, staring up at the starry summer sky, before Herry called them and said if they didn't come soon he'd eat all the marshmallows. Atlanta rolled her eyes. She knew he'd eat most of them anyways, but still stood up. "Race you to the others, Arch." With that, she took off, to anyone who looked just a blur. You couldn't even see her distinctive red hair in the dim light. Archie grumbled about how wet he was and how he might slip, before taking off after her.

* * *

**How was it? I lied. This is actually the longest chapter yet! Please check out the poll I set up on my page. I want to know if my Hunger Games story is worth writing! Speaking of stories, I mentioned in an earlier author's note that I also write original stuff. If you're interested please check it out! I use the same username. I posted the story on Wattpad. Let me know about any predictions you may have for future chapters via reviews! I like hearing them. Don't worry, you'll learn about what's wrong with Herry in the next chapter. As always, constructive criticism is welcomed, I like to know if there are mistakes I need to correct. Thanks again for all the people who voted me best new author! I'll try to update soon! Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, so sorry i took forever! I have nothing else to say (thats a first)! so on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I may own the laptop i use to write this story but sadly, I do not own COTT. :/**

Everyone was sitting around the campfire. Honestly, they looked like they were having a gigantic messed up family reunion. In a way, I guess they were, Jay thought to himself. But Herry still hadn't cheered up. even with Chelsea here, talking away, getting to know pretty much everyone and being as usual; the most socially involved as possible, he hadn't really come out of his funk. Jay looked at the fire. It was starting to go out. Perfect timing. "Hey, Herry, do you want to come with me and get some more fire wood?"

"Sure." He stood up and the two made there way up the beach. Once they'd gotten far enough along, Jay put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"What's going on with you, buddy? You've been acting strange ever since our families showed up. You can tell us what's wrong."

Herry looked at him for a moment. Then he took a deep breath. "Okay, I'll tell you. but I'd like to tell you all at once." Jay nodded, and they grabbed a few more pieces of firewood before heading back.

* * *

"What took you so long," Atlanta asked as the boys walked back. "I could of run there and back in two minutes!" Herry rolled her eyes at the spunky red head.

"We had to actually _find_ the wood, Atlanta."

Atlanta leaned back on the log she was sitting on and put her hands up in front of herself in defence. "I know, I know. I'm just saying." Herry put the logs on the fire and sighed.

"I have to tell you guys something. It's the reason why I've been acting so strange." Herry took a deep breath. "Ever since your families arrived, I've felt like a piece of me is missing. Sure, I have Granny, my mom, my dad, but I have trouble spending time with my parents without thinking about Hazel. Hazel is my twin sister. And she went missing a year before I was brought to New Olympia.

Herry looked up and saw a mixture of emotions on his friends faces. Confusion, shock, sympathy.

"Herry, why didn't you tell us before?" Theresa asked him. Herry smiled. He was so grateful to have friends that genuinely cared about him.

"What happened," Archie asked, his usual bad boy attitude and sarcastic voice gone.

Herry sighed. "Well get comfortable. You're going to be sitting here for a while. It's a pretty long story."

* * *

_Herry, Hazel, and his parents were on a family hike in the forest. They were headed to the top of the hill. It had a beautiful view of the rushing river below them. Hazel ran ahead and got to the top much quicker than the rest of them. _

_"Hey, Herry you have to come and see this!" Herry ran to catch up with his sister. He saw her standing on the edge of a small, yet dangerous rocky cliff over looking the river. The ground was around thirty-five feet below them. "The view is great over here!" _

_"I don't think you should be that close to the edge, Hazel," he warned her. Just seeing her standing so close to the edge like that made him nervous. _

_"Thanks, mom," she told him sarcastically. "Honestly, Herry stop being so overprotective. Last time I checked it was me that was five minutes older than you. Besides, I'm fine."_

_Herry watched her stand there for a minute, but his gut was telling him that something wasn't right. What happened next happened so quickly. A part of the cliff started crumbling away under Hazel's feet. Part of it broke off under her right foot. She lost her balance and fell over. Herry ran after her and tried to grab her hand before she was out of his reach but he was too late. He got there just quickly enough to watch her hit the water, and see the current drag her away._

* * *

_"_After Hazel fell over the cliff, my parents and I ran back down and followed the river. We searched for hours, but we couldn't find her. When we got back to our car, we drove straight to the police station to report her missing. They searched for half a day, around the general area of where she fell, before breaking the news to us that she was probably dead or dying, because of the fall. We went home, and my mother locked herself in her room and wouldn't come out for a week straight. We were really close. I still miss her so much."

The whole time he told his story, his friends sat quietly and listened to him. Even Neil. Archie didn't even comment when one tear rolled down his cheek and landed in the sand. When he looked up after finishing, he was surprised that Atlanta, who normally showed very little affection towards her friends, had gotten up and given him a hug. Herry looked down at his hands and saw that during his story, one had reached for Chelsea's. He also noticed that he was clutching it very tightly. He quickly let go, realizing that he was probably crushing her tiny hand. She of course, didn't mind, but he caught her let out a tiny breath when he let go. He smiled and wrapped his massive arm around her shoulders. All of his friends had crowded in to give him a hug by now. He really had amazing friends.

* * *

A little while later, Herry and Chelsea separated themselves from the group and left hand in hand to take a walk on the beach. Chelsea had stayed silent for awhile, she didn't want to disturb him. But eventually she stopped. She had to ask him this question. "Herry, why didn't you tell me, or your friends about your sister before?" He looked up at her momentarily, then down again.

"Oh, well I didn't want you or the others to see me cry. Hazel is my family. Notice how i said is? I refuse to say was. She is forever important to me. Brining her up, I knew I would breakdown." Tears had started to role down his cheeks and Chelsea softly brushed them away.

"Herry, look at me." He did as he was told. "You are a huge guy. You probably intimidate people at first sight. But honestly you don't live up to a muscle man title that people would automatically give you. You may look big, huge and scary on the outside, but on the inside I and all of you friends know that you're like a big teddy bear. You wouldn't hurt anyone unless you really needed to-like Cronus-and you are the nicest guy I know. When you have a personality like you do, it's just silly for you to worry about things like your friends seeing you cry. Believe it or not, guys are allowed to cry too. And if you got any of these ideas from Archie, I'd be happy to talk to him next. You are amazing. And I just want you to know that you can tell me anything."

When she was finally done, Herry looked down at the beautiful girl he was happy to call his. She really thought that much of him? "You say I'm amazing. But I think it's all you." And he bent down to kiss her.

**This was really short, but I have a reason! I needed more time to work on my other story, that I'm finally updating! Yay! Well the next chapter of that story should be up shortly after this. So when I post the next chapter, please take a look! Well, bye for now, and I'll try to update quicker from now on. :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**You guys honestly don't know how happy it makes me to see all of your wonderful reviews! Thank you so much! Well, as of now I have started a new COTT fanfic, but I don't plan on having it up for a while. I warn you, this chapter is going to be shorter, because I decided I wanted to split it into two. Thats all for now! Feel free to leave me feedback below, You know I love it!**

**Disclaimer: Guess what guys? I own it! Nah, just kidding.**

The next day, Atlanta rose sleepily from her bed. She looked at the calendar and groaned. Today her parents were expecting her to spend 'quality time' with her brothers. The last time she did that, they ran away from a giant who attacked her, screaming like little girls the whole way. She got up and started to brush her hair. She heard the shower going, so that meant there was no point to even try right now, as it was probably Neil. The terrible singing coming from the bathroom as she walked by confirmed her suspicions.

She stepped into the kitchen, grabbed some bread and popped it into the toaster. She said hello to Jay, who still insisted on getting up early, even with Cronus gone. I guess some mysteries of this house would remain unsolved. She spread the peanut butter and jam on her toast and walked out the door. Her brothers were supposed to meet her at the park. As she approached the familiar pond she checked her watch. Her brothers were late. as usual. She stood at the edge of the pond, watching the joggers run by. That's what she would like to be doing right now, Atlanta thought to herself.

Suddenly, she heard the rustle of bushes from behind her, along with two pairs of heavy footsteps. She sighed and moved out of the way, before her brothers could push her into the pond. They lost their balance at the edge and fell in. Atlanta collapsed on the grass in a fit of soaked brunet heads popped out of the water, gasping for breath.

"Okay, that was not funny," one of them, Luke told her.

"Yes it was," Atlanta said between laughs. "Besides, you were planning on pushing me in there. You brought it on yourselves."

Atlanta's other brother, Jake, tried to reach out to grab her ankle and pull her in. She quickly moved it out of his reach, and pushed on his chest with her foot, causing him to lose his grasp on the edge of the pond and fall back in. "Come on Jake, will you ever learn? You may both be older, but I will _always_ be smarter than the both of you put together." She walked over to retrieve her bag from the bench and started to leave. "Since I'm not entirely cruel, we can go back to your hotel so that you idiots can change your cloths.

Then we can get this day over with."

Atlanta, Jake and Luke all walked down the busy streets of New Olympia, towards their hotel. The two boys got funny looks from all of the people who passed them, especially since Atlanta was completely dry. Little did Jake and Luke know, the quicker rout would have been the back roads behind the park. Atlanta just wanted to embarrass them. That would teach them to attempt to mess with her.

* * *

Rachel left to go and visit an old friend for the day, and her mother and father were out on a romantic date. Leaving Theresa on her own. She decided that she would spend some time with Herry for the day. Truthfully, she felt bad for the big guy. Sure he had his Granny and both of his parents, but from what Theresa had heard him and his sister were really close. Theresa didn't know what she'd do if she lost Rachel. Even if she had dealt with loss before.

So Theresa and Herry spent the day at the mall, although most of their trip consisted of spending time at the food court. Then the truck section of the auto parts store. Then the sports store. By the end of the day, Theresa had realized that it would probably be easier to shop with _Neil_.

"Thanks so much for taking my mind off of things today, Theresa! This has been fun!" Herry said. Theresa grimaced, and tried to look away when the hamburger bits fell out of his mouth as he talked to her.

"Anytime."

Theresa and Herry kept walking for a while after that. They went in a few more stores; as they hadn't gone to any of the stores Theresa wanted to go to the whole trip, before coming to the agreement that they should call it a day. They were walking back to Theresa's car, when she stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. An all familiar feeling passed over her.

_A girl with long brown hair around Theresa's age sat alone in a familiar coffee shop. She was quite beautiful, but she looked confused. Lonely, even._

Theresa snapped out of it as soon as the vision ended. She hadn't gotten one since Cronus was defeated. That meant this had to be important. She mumbled that she would be back, before taking off towards the coffee shop, leaving a confused Herry behind.

* * *

Archie and Jay sat on the couch at the dorm, watching their little sisters play together. They had tried to convince the two boys to play princesses. It didn't take long for Archie to say no. He loved his little sister, but he didn't like babysitting. Then there was also the fact that Atlanta could walk through that door any minute, and he would prefer to have his ego fully intact when she did.

"So, Archie. Cronus is gone. When are you planning on asking Atlanta out?" Jay asked him.

Archie cleared his throat. "Well, you see. I was going to. But then I decided not to."

Jay stared at him. He was shocked. Was Archie giving up on Atlanta? After liking her for so long? He couldn't be serious.

"You see, I realized that she probably would never have feelings for me that way," he continued.

"Hold on. You don't know that at all. Has she ever told you she would never ever go out with you? No, I don't think she has. But Arch, you'd better tell her before it's to late." Jay smirked for a minute, and then added "because you never know, Pan could be stopping by anytime."

Archie sat frozen for a few seconds. "Fine. I'll tell her. I'll even tell her today. But on one condition. _You_ need to tell the Drama Queen how you feel, too. And if I were you, I'd do it soon. She's getting home soon, and didn't you say your cousins were coming over for dinner?"

Jay scowled. If he knew Casper, he wouldn't stop after Jay's warning. To him, Jay would always be his pathetic, weaker, younger cousin. Well, we'll see about that.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys! I know the last chapter was really short, but I figured you guys deserved a quicker update than usual. I tried the best I could to get this chapter up quickly too! Also, concerning that other story I was talking about writing, I'm hoping on finishing this one first. I can't really reveal anything quite yet, but I will be stepping out of my comfort zone to try something new. Anyways, here we go.**

**Disclaimer: This again? You should know by now. I don't own**

Theresa pushed open the door of the coffee shop and quickly scanned the room. She spotted who she was looking for and walked up to her. "Excuse me, do you mind if I sit here?" Theresa asked politely. The girl, the same one from her from her vision nodded, and Theresa sat down across from her. "I hope you don't mind my asking, but how old are you?" The girl stared at her for a minute.

"I'm eighteen," She responded.

"I'm sorry, I must seem really rude. I'm Theresa. What's your name?" Theresa stuck out her hand, and the girl took it.

"Hazel."

Theresa smiled to herself. Score. "So, are you just visiting New Olympia, Hazel? Or do you have family here?"

Hazel frowned. "I don't know," she replied.

Theresa looked at her curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you see about four years ago, I woke up in the hospital. The doctor told me I had been in a coma for a month. The strange thing was, I couldn't remember anything. Aparently I had amnesia. After about a month, I remembered my name and my age, but nothing else came to me after that. I had a foster family until just a few months ago. I turned eighteen, so legally she didn't need anyone looking after me anymore,and they were fully supportive when I decided to go out and travel to different towns, to see if any of them would spark a memory. Even though I've pretty much lost all hope. If by know I haven't remembered anything else, I don't think I ever will."

Theresa stared at her for a few minutes. This had to be the right girl. Her name was Hazel, she was eighteen, and she had amnesia. It all added up. And it explained why she wouldn't have come looking for her family earlier. She even looked like Herry. "Maybe I can help you," Theresa offered. Hazel looked up at her, curiosity showing in her brown eyes.

"How? I only just met you."

Theresa looked around. No one was in hearing distance. She leaned in close to Hazel. "I'm kind of psychic," she told her. Hazel looked up at her with a scowl on her face.

"I'm sorry, I'm not in the mood for being scammed. I've seen all of those fake psychic's at the amusement parks. They always want heavy prices for fake readings. No thanks." She got up to leave, but Theresa grabbed her wrist.

"No, I'm not charging you. Please. You have to believe me." Hazel looked down at her with a doubtful gaze. But she sat back down anyways. "Alright. Now place your hands in mine." She did as she was told. "I'm going to try and enter your mind, to see if there are any old memories that I can help resurface. Now close your eyes." Both girls closed their eyes. Theresa flinched. She was pulling out all of her power to help this girl. She continued prowling through Hazel's brain. She found memories of her foster family, and their kids. She just had to dig a little deeper. Theresa tried to look farther, but something stopped her. This was it. There was an invisible wall, stopping all of her old memories from coming back to her. If Theresa could break down the wall, she would remember everything.

Theresa put all of her power into it. The wall was starting to break. She just needed to push a little harder. Theresa summoned the rest of her strength. The invisible wall shattered. The memories were released. Theresa let go, and opened her eyes. Hazel had opened her eyes and jumped backwards.

"Oh my gosh. I remember everything. I have a twin brother named Herry. A mom, a dad, and my Granny. She lives here," Hazel sputtered, pure joy showing in her eyes. Theresa slumped backwards, exhausted.

"I know. Your brother is my friend. I didn't want to frighten you." Hazel jumped forward and pulled Theresa into an almost suffocating hug. The red head used the little strength she had left to wrap her arms around the other girl.

"Thank you so much."

"You're welcome."

* * *

Archie was sitting in the kitchen, and it was just his luck when a tired and grumpy Atlanta shoved the door open. She stomped through the house, kicking her shoes off at the door. She grabbed an apple from the counter top and bit into it angrily. No one but Archie, sometimes not even him had the nerve to talk to her when she was in a mood like this.

"I hate my brothers," she muttered angrily, throwing her apple core in the garbage. Archie raised his eyebrows at her.

"Bad day?" He asked.

"You could say that. They get way to much joy out of teasing me. I swear I'll get them back, though."

Jay walked into the kitchen just then. He noticed that Atlanta was back. She had her back turned to him, so he smiled at Archie, as though to say "Perfect timing!" He walked past the duo, and went down to the basement to talk to Odie. Archie started to twiddle his thumbs nervously. Jay was right.

"A-Atlanta?" He stuttered. "C-can I tell you something? She turned to face him. Her sweet hazel eyes glistened back at him, and her hair framed her face just perfectly. Archie was overwhelmed by her beauty. This was going to make things ten times worse. Why did she have to be so damn beautiful? She motioned for him to continue. "Well, I've been meaning to tell you for a while now that-"

Atlanta's PMR rang just then. "Hold that thought, Arch." She pulled the tiny blue device out of her pocket, and put it to her ear. "Hello?…..Yes…But!…..Mom!….No! I spent the whole day with them!….Fine. Bye." She turned to Archie and smiled apologetically. "Sorry, that was my mom. I have to go out for dinner for 'family bonding time.' But I promise, we'll talk when I get back, okay? She punched him playfully in the shoulder, before grabbing her bag and darting out the door. So much for telling her now, Archie thought. He collapsed on the couch, and started to flip through channels, when Jay re-emerged from, as Neil called it, 'Odie's cave.'

"So, did you tell her?" He asked, blocking the television.

"I tried to, but didn't have the chance! You haven't either, though, so you have nothing on me."

"Hey. That's different. Theresa hasn't been home all day."

"I realize that, oh fearless leader. Funny, I'm pretty sure your biggest fear is telling Theresa how you feel. I do believe you came up with a whole list of ways she could reject you as well. And if my memory serves me correctly, you hid it at the back of your desk drawer" Archie said, smiling smugly at the older boy. Jay's face turned pink. Then crimson. The straight up beet red. But not because of what Archie had said, but because just then, Neil, and his wonderful luck decided to enter the room. And he burst out laughing. Causing Odie to come upstairs, wondering what was so funny. To then have the situation described to him by Neil, and start to laugh as well. Some friends Jay had. But he knew some embarrassing things about the resident warrior, as well.

"Oh, is that so, Archie? Well if _my _memory serves me correctly, underneath your bed is a whole book of poems you wrote for Atlanta." Soon the two boys had matching faces. Odie was rolling on the floor laughing. Neil would have been too, but he had just done his hair, and he really didn't want to ruin it.

"Ha ha ha," Archie muttered, while glaring at Jay. If Jay woke up with his head shaved the next morning, Archie had nothing to do with it.

* * *

Hazel and Theresa emerged from the café after a few minutes. The red-head was walking slowly, due to lack of energy. She saw her car not far away. Herry was standing at the passengers door, with his back facing them. Hazel stopped dead in her tracks. "Herry?" She squeaked. The muscular teen turned around. His jaw dropped so low, he could have broken some sort of record. He started running towards them. He grabbed Hazel, and pulled her into a huge bear hug.

"You're alive," he whispered. He looked down at his twin sister. She smiled and nodded. He turned his eyes on the tired Theresa. She looked like she was going to pass out. "You had a vision, didn't you?" She nodded.

"I'll explain everything," she said.

A little later, they were all sitting in Theresa's red convertible, but to Theresa's dismay, Herry was sitting in the driver's seat. She didn't like the idea of someone else driving her car, but she defiantly was in no state to be driving it herself. Over the ride back to the dorm, Theresa and Hazel took turns explaining everything to Herry." At the end of the story he sat there, silently.

"So all this time, you were alive. You just had amnesia?" He asked her

"That's right. But if I may, can I ask you a question?" Hazel turned her attention to Theresa "What happened? I mean, how did you do that?" Theresa turned around in her seat to look at the tall brunette girl.

"Well, you better get comfortable. It's a long story."


	8. Chapter 8

Long time no see? I'm not even going to bother apologizing anymore. Really there's no point. My updating patterns aren't going to change anytime soon, especially not in the next few weeks. Yeah, its that time of year again. Just three weeks from now I start exams. Joy. Anyways, Thanks to all of you who have read and reviewed my new story _Herry_! And to anyone who hasn't, check it out! I also wrote a _Super Smash Bros_ story recently that I just finished re-working. Another thing, I want to know what you think about my OC's. Are they getting confusing? Help me figure out how to fix the problem that there are simply to many of them to follow. Oh, and I apologize ahead of time for what is to come. I just love putting A/A in awkward situations. :D For anyone confused, by the way in this story it took the heroes 3 years to defeat Cronus. One more thing, I'm going to try to get better at replying to reviews. This story has gotten so many! You guys rock, and it means _a_ _lot!_

Disclaimer: Must we do this every chapter? I own nothing. Not now, and probably never will.

* * *

Herry and Theresa pushed their way through the door of the brownstone, causing Jay to look up from what he was reading. But they didn't come in alone. Barely peaking out from under Herry's massive bicep, was a girl that Jay had never seen before. Although, looking closer she had the same brown hair and eyes as Herry himself. He opened his mouth to say something but Neil beat him to the punch.

"Who's the chick?" He said rudely, not even looking up from his fashion magazine which, shockingly had him on the cover. Normally Jay would have glared at him for being so rude to a guest, but he was to caught up between the similarities of the two brunets standing in the doorway.

"Everyone, this is my sister Hazel."The response he got from that was completely predictable. Jay's jaw dropped to the floor, along with his book, Odie stared in disbelief, Archie, who had heard the tail end of the older boy's sentence from his spot in the kitchen had come out to join the staring contest. Neil even looked up from his magazine. Hazel smiled sheepishly, a small blush creeping up on her face.

Theresa laughed at the expressions on their faces. "I'll explain everything."

* * *

Twenty minutes and many questions later, Atlanta had come home and Theresa and Herry had explained the entire situation to the confused teens. Most of them had left by then. Only Odie, Herry, and Hazel remained in the room. Herry had taken to playing video games, with his sister curled up on the couch next to him. Neil walked into the room to retrieve the magazine he had forgotten on the coffee table in his flee earlier to get to the shower before Atlanta. That had been two hours ago.

"Hey Neil, who do you think is faster; Atlanta or _Sonic the Hedgehog?_" Herry asked the blonde model. The latter shrugged.

"Don't know, don't care." He left the room, magazine in hand. Odie, who up till then had been furiously typing on his laptop, looked up and plucked one of the earbuds out of his ear. Looking curiously at the burly brown haired man before him, he raised an eyebrow.

"One question for you, Herry. Out of all the people who are currently in this house, why would you ask _Neil _that question?"

"I don't know. Random thought. Besides, you looked caught up in what you were doing and he was the only other person in the room, besides my sister here who has no idea how to tell Mario from Bowser," he gestured to Hazel who smiled sheepishly. He paused his game and got up to lean over the other boy's shoulder. "What are you doing that's so important anyways?"

Odie scowled. "I lost a bet to my sister, now I have to design a webpage for her volleyball team. So far it's taken about three hours. She gave me _very _specific instructions."

"What was the bet?" Odie hit his face with his palm and muttered something Herry couldn't hear. "What was that?"

"I told her I could get a girl on the beach to kiss me," he mumbled. Herry choked back his laughter and let the boy continue. "But she slapped me across the face." Now Herry didn't even bother to conceal his laughter. He bent over and clutched his legs. Odie scowled, but allowed him to get it all out. When he was done, he looked up and stared at Odie's face quizzically.

"Shouldn't there be a mark on your face. You know where she hit you?"

"I borrowed Neil's coverup," he said under his breath. This caused another wave of laughter coming from the other boy. "Yeah, yeah I get it. Laugh all you want, but if this leaves this room I'll, I'll-"

"You'll what?" Herry asked him, crossing his arms over his broad chest while flexing his muscles. Odie took in the larger boy's appearance and gulped. "That's what I thought, little busy.

* * *

Atlanta sat in her room messing around with the tablet she had jacked from Theresa's room when she heard a knock from her door. She told whoever it was to come in. Archie pushed her door open and stepped inside, making sure to shut it behind him. "Hey Arch, what's up?" She asked, not even looking up from what she was doing.

"Nothing much, but I-I've been w-wanting to talk to you about something for a while," he stuttered, pulling at the neck of his t-shirt.

At this, Atlanta got off her bed and walked to stand in front of him. "Oh, right. What was it that you've been wanting to say?"

He took a step forward. "Well you see-" another step "I've been wanting to-" another step "tell you that-" Archie took another step towards her, but tripped over the rug and knocked both himself and her into the open closet she had conveniently placed herself in front of. They landed hard on the floor with a thud, Archie on top of her.

"Smooth," she muttered. The door burst open and the ever paranoid Jay dashed into the room, xiphos in hand, Theresa hot on his heals. Seeing the predicament in front of him, he smirked at the two on the floor, before backing back out the door and shutting it behind himself. Atlanta cleared her throat, drawing the attention of the purple haired teen back to the girl squished underneath him. She frowned up at him and pushed lightly on his chest with her palms. Archie took the hint, and rolled off of her.

"I-I've got to go," he mumbled and made a quick dash for the door. He slammed it so hard behind him that some of the posters taped to her door flew to the floor. Atlanta gave an aggravated sigh before peeling herself off of the floor. There was obviously something on that dork's mind. She wished he'd just spit it out already. That was the third time that week he had avoided telling her. Well, second, if you didn't include the time she had to leave for family dinner. Still, it was starting to get on her nerves. Why was this thing he was trying to say making him so nervous?

This was not the first time she wondered if people were keeping things from her. What bugged Atlanta the most was it seemed like Theresa knew what was up. Heck, it seemed like everyone did. But every time she'd ask the older girl, she'd just change the subject really quickly.

Although Archie knew she could take care of herself, he always seemed to linger close to her when they were battling Cronus. And the tone of his voice when he shouted her name, whenever she seemed to have gotten herself into a messy situation. And how he acted when Pan was around. Did Archie like her? Atlanta's eyes went wide when she made the realization. When Arachne had been controlling her, and Archie was convincing her that they were her friends, it seemed as though he was jumbling his words. And when she'd been poisoned by the Seeper, she may not have remembered anything, but the amount of care he'd shown for her after the fact.

Atlanta growled in frustration. She never had been good with the whole relationship thing. And she wasn't about to cave and go around asking Theresa for advice. Flopping herself on her bed, Atlanta continued to contemplate, with everything she came up with supporting her hypothesis even further.

* * *

"…So if you're a descendant of Hercules, what does that make me?" Hazel asked curiously. The rest of the residents of the brownstone had long since gone to bed, but the siblings still sat awake on the couches, catching up. Herry shrugged his shoulders, he didn't have an answer for her.

"I dunno. The twin sister of the descendant of Hercules?"

"Clever. But seriously, what about all of us? Since I'm related to you wouldn't that make me a descendant of Hercules too?"

Herry's face scrunched up as he thought. Truthfully, he'd never thought about it that way. "I guess some mysteries will be left unsolved."

Hazel snorted. "That's such a cliché."

"A what?"

"Never mind."

The pair settled into a comfortable silence, just enjoying being in one another's presence once again. But the moment was ruined a few minutes later when realization hit Herry in the face. He sat up straight and stared in front of him. "Hazel?"

"Hmm?"

"We haven't told mom and dad you aren't dead yet."


	9. Chapter 9

Hey, guys. So, exams and school are finally over for the summer! I haven't had any time to write, and I'm sorry about that but I haven't gone a day without thinking about this story, and the ideas i have for it. So, the next chapter is the last :( But I hope you enjoy this one and the next as always! R&R.

Disclaimer: COTT doesn't belong to this girl.

* * *

The next morning Atlanta opened the door of the brownstone and slipped outside. The sun was shining down on her vibrant red hair, and although she had swapped her normal socks and sneakers for a pair of sandals, the hot summer weather was already getting to Atlanta. She had woken up that morning to find a note taped to her door, telling her to meet whomever it was from by the big tree beside the pond in the park, at ten in the morning. Even if it was her brothers trying to pull some trick on her, Atlanta wasn't worried. She could take them any day, while she was blindfolded with one hand tied behind her back.

Atlanta reached the tree at exactly ten, sat down and leaned her head against the trunk. Several minutes passed, and the person still hadn't shown up. Atlanta closed her eyes and inwardly groaned. Either the person was running late, or she had been stood up. Suddenly feeling the warmth of the sun disappear, Atlanta opened her eyes to find a figure hovering above her. Their shadow had been what had taken her sun away. Atlanta immediately recognized the person's golden ankle brace and purple hair.

"Atlanta?"

"Archie? What are you doing here," she slowly asked him.

"What am I doing here? I got an anonymous note telling me to meet the person here. What are _you _doing here?" Atlanta's eyes widened and she reached into the pocket of her shorts to pull out a small slip of paper.

"I got the same note," she said, handing him the slip.

Archie dug through his pockets for a minute before pulling out a slip similar to the one Atlanta had been holding in her hand. "The handwriting matches," he said showing her the two slips. Atlanta snapped her fingers. She hadn't noticed this earlier, most likely because she had been half asleep but that printing was definitely familiar. She didn't know anyone else who curled the ends of their a's like that. Atlanta took off down the sidewalk, not stopping until she got all the way back to the brownstone.

She ran up the stairs, past her own room and pushed open the door she had been running for. "You set us up. You did that on purpose. Why?" She growled at the resident of the room.

Theresa giggled and put her hands up in defeat. "Okay, you got me. But Atlanta! I couldn't help it! Seeing the two of you on the floor like that yesterday! And can't you see? of course not, you are so oblivious but he adores you!" The older girl squealed. Atlanta's jaw dropped.

"I'm sorry, he _what?_" Theresa slapped her hand over her mouth quickly realizing her mistake. The younger girl slowly backed her way out of the room before running back down the stairs. She was going back to the park. She wouldn't believe this unless she heard it for herself.

* * *

Hazel opened the door to her brothers room, but when she did, she definitely wasn't expecting what she saw. It looked like a tornado had come through it. Twice. Then one of Cronus' giants had come in and thrown everything around. Clothes were scattered everywhere. Hazel silently stepped into the room, only to be hit square in the face with a blue dress shirt. Wait. Since when did _her_ brother own a _dress shirt_? The said teen was standing in his closet, throwing shirts and pants everywhere, muttering about how he had nothing to wear. Hazel cautiously stepped over pairs of pants and undershirts, and ducked as a shoe nearly hit her.

"Uh, Herry?" She asked, tapping him on the shoulder. He turned around to look at her. "What are you doing?"

He turned back around and kept rummaging through his closet. "It's Chelsea and I's one year anniversary tonight. I want to take her somewhere special, but I have no idea what to wear! As you probably know, the whole dress up and take your girlfriend to a fancy restaurant thing isn't exactly in my area of expertise." Hazel laughed lightly.

"You can say that again. But is all this really necessary? For the brief moment I met your girlfriend, she didn't seem to be the type of person to care a lot about stuff like this. Wouldn't she be happy if you just ordered chinese takeout?"

"Yeah, she would it's just I haven't exactly had a serious girlfriend before, Hazel. I want to do something really special for her."

Hazel smiled. Her brother was always a thoughtful person. She pushed him aside and looked through his closet. Picking out a pair of black jeans and a dark blue button up, she shoved the outfit in his hands. "Here, wear this. You know, Herry, it doesn't really matter what you do for her. She's lucky either way to have such a great person like you," she said, embracing him.

* * *

At seven o'clock, Herry stood outside of a simple house, fingering the small velvet box in his pocket. He had just knocked on the large wooden doors. A man slightly shorter than Herry himself opened the door. He called upstairs telling Chelsea the door was for her. Moments later, a beautiful girl came running down the stairs. Herry's breath caught in his throat. She was wearing a short purple sleeveless dress that cut off at her mid thigh, with black flats. Her bangs were pinned back, and her long chestnut hair was swept into a neat ponytail. She was stunning.

"Hey. You, ready?" She asked him, grabbing a small black hand bag from a table by the door.

Herry nodded his head. As they made their way towards his truck, he grabbed her hand. "You look beautiful," he told her. She smiled up at him.

"Yeah, well you don't look so bad yourself." They hopped into his car, and drove for about ten minutes before hopping out when they got to their destination. Herry opened the door to the restaurant, and the pair walked through. A cheery hostess greeted them.

"Hi, I have a reservation," he greeted her. He told her his name and she scanned down her list.

"Right this way, please." The hostess led them to a quiet table at the back corner of the restaurant. Herry pulled Chelsea's chair out for her before taking a seat himself.

A waitress came by a few minutes later and took their orders. After she left them alone, Herry revealed the box he had been hiding in his pocket. He passed it to her. She opened the box to reveal a silver heart shaped locket. Slipping her fingernails into the crack, she opened the small object. Inside, there was a picture of the two of them from their first date. Herry remembered that day quite clearly. He had asked her to got to the park with him, but Theresa, being the snoop she was followed them and hid at the top of a tree. She snapped a picture right as he kissed her, before loosing her balance and falling right in front of them. Herry didn't speak to her for two whole days after that.

Snapping out of his flashback, Herry looked back at his girlfriend, who was beaming at him. "Will you put it on me?" She asked him. He nodded and stood up. He took the locket, and placed it around her neck before doing up the clasp.

"Happy anniversary. I love you," he whispered in her ear.

"I love you, too, Herry" she whispered back.

* * *

Atlanta stood outside Archie's door. She had run back to the park after talking to Theresa, but he hadn't been there. After that, she couldn't find him for the rest of the day. He was probably spending time with his family. Another way of putting it would be to say he was avoiding her. Later that evening she had heard him come in and creep up the stairs to his room. After spending some time to gather her thoughts, she decided to get up and knock. If what Theresa said was true, she had been thinking long and hard, and come to a conclusion. If it wasn't true, she was in for a very awkward and friendship-threatening situation.

Gathering all her courage, and most likely throwing away the rest of her dignity, she raised her fist to the door and knocked. "Arch, it's me. Can I come in?" She said. She heard a muffled yes before opening the door. Was it her imagination or did he sound uneasy?

Slowly, she opened the door. He was seated at his desk with his back facing her. Normally, by now he would have turned around to greet her. That was unless they were fighting about something stupid again. Which she didn't think they were. He hadn't really done anything wrong, and she didn't think she had either. There was no doubt he was hiding something. "We need to talk," she said slowly, almost like she was dreading what was to come next. She wouldn't lie, she was. She was dreading his answer to her question because either way it would change their friendship somehow. She couldn't just move on and act like nothing happened, either. That wasn't her way of doing things.

After a short amount of time, he turned around to look at her. "About what?"

Atlanta started to shuffle her feet. She thought she would be able to just storm into his room and demand answers. That obviously wasn't going to happen anymore. "Well, for staters, you've been trying to tell me something all week. And then there was this morning. It shouldn't have been such a big deal, but for some reason it was. I haven't been able to find you all day. But after we talked, I went and found Theresa. And something slipped out of her mouth that she hadn't meant to say, and I just needed to know if it was true or not." Throughout her rant, Archie's face had noticibly paled. She had figured it out. After six years of dropping hints she had finally figured it out. He thought that he would have been excited when she figured it out. But now he was just scared out of his wits. "So is it true?" She questioned. He gulped, swallowing the large lump in his throat.

"W-what did she say?" He stuttered out, although he was quite afraid of the answer.

Atlanta huffed. Now she knew he had been avoiding her earlier that day. "Her exact words were that you adore me. But then she slapped her hand over her mouth, like she wasn't supposed to tell me. Is it true?" She asked for a second time.

Archie sighed. There was no point in holding it in anymore. Gods, he had pictured the day he finally confessed his feelings to Atlanta, but this was far from the way he saw it. "Yeah. It's true."

Atlanta gaped. She was expecting him to deny everything. Or get really defensive. She couldn't help her next question. It just spilled out of her mouth before she could help herself. "How long?"

"Ever since I first met you."

Now that she was _definitely_ not expecting. She had no idea how to respond, so instead she just slid her back down the wall, and sat on the carpet. Several minutes of awkward silence went by between the two. Archie had started to loose the remaining hope he had that his best friend would ever feel the same way about him that he did about her. But just as he was about to completely give up the said girl spoke up.

"Hey, Arch? I think I like you too."

He looked over at her, astonished. There was no way he heard her right. But he had. She had just told him that she liked him too. Atlanta, told him, Archie that she liked him too. She got up from her spot against the wall and walked over to awkwardly hug him. He hugged her back.

"So, what does this mean for us? Are we still friends?" She questioned.

He cautiously grabbed her hand and intertwining his fingers with hers. She smiled at him reassuringly, silently telling him it was okay. "Of course we'll still be friends. Just maybe a little bit more than that now."

"Friends with benefits?" She said cheekily, lightly nudging him in the ribs. He laughed and smiled.

"I like the way that sounds."


End file.
